Farther Away and Further To Fall
by tjmack
Summary: Sequel to Miles From Where You Are (MUST read that before this!); Her return had been awaited and expected, but she isn't the same Emma Swan that had left Storybrooke … that fact, mixed with the guests that she returns with leave for uncomfortable reunions.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:** _I hadn't planned on it taking this long to get the first chapter of the sequel written, but I got super busy and every starting off point I came up with just didn't feel right. I started working on this draft of the chapter a few days ago, and am fairly happy with the way it turned out. I don't have absolute specifics about what's going to happen in this one, but I do know that there will be grand amounts of fluff, drama, angst, hurt/comfort and much much more. As the characters are forced to come to terms to what happened to them in the Enchanted Forest, and as the citizens of Storybrooke deal with the fact that they'll never fully understand the unique bond between Emma, Graham, and Nikolai.

* * *

Emma awoke with a start. The last thing she remembered was grabbing hold of Graham and Nikolai's hands and jumping feet first into the swirling mass of purple smoke. The fear in her chest causing her heart to thump. It wasn't merely the fact that she jumped into the portal without a care of if it would actually work. Of course that added to the fear and tension she had been feeling, but it wasn't the source. The source of her fear occurred the moment that Emma's fist plunged straight into Cora's chest, ripping the glowing, red heart from inside her. Seeing the look of sheer hatred on Graham's face as he crushed Cora's heart to dust.

She shuddered slightly from the memory, as she took in her surroundings. Her back was laying against the hard, uncomfortable ground of a forest. Not particularly helpful in letting her know if the portal actually worked. One forest looked just like all the others. On her left lay Graham, his shoulder wound had started to bleed again, which caused a flurry of worry to bubble to the surface, mixing with the fear from earlier.

On her right lay Nikolai, the blood on the side of his head had caked dry in his curly brown hair but the wound itself had stopped oozing blood a while ago from the looks of it. At that moment, Emma realized that her own head was pounding. Not that she was sure what to expect with portal jumping. She had only witnessed it once before, and she felt much the same when she had awoke the first time around.

"Emma!"

Her head snapped around, as she recognized the voice. _David Nolan_, a voice in her head said, causing her to shake her head slightly. Spots clouded her vision, as her head spun from the added movement. After a few seconds, Emma is able to think correctly again, and corrects the voice in her head. The man calling for her isn't David Nolan. David was a meek, spineless man. This man's voice while familiar, held an obvious different tone to it. It was strong, confident, and demanded respect. That was the voice of her father. _Prince James_. Her father was a prince. Her mother was Snow White. Emma groaned, her life was seriously screwed up.

"Mom!"

The next voice caused Emma's heart to leap into her throat. Her son. Henry. Tears clouded her vision, as she made a move to stand up. "Over here!" She called, not entirely sure which direction the voices had drifted from.

The sudden movement and the noise caused both Graham and Nikolai to groan and stir. Emma eyed them both carefully, and noted that Graham's wound was still leaking blood. She had to find James and Henry … Graham needed a hospital and from the look on Nikolai's face, he did too.

"Grandpa! She's over here!" Henry called loudly, before busting through the foliage in front of her.

Emma's knees weakened, as she crumpled to the ground. She honestly never thought she'd see her son again. Even if she never voiced her concerns out-loud, Emma had feared that she would die over there. That she would never get the chance to hold her son ever again. That she wouldn't ever have another chance to tell him that she loved him.

"Henry!" Emma cried, the tears slipping from her eyes quickly, as Henry flung his small body into Emma's open arms.

"Mom! I missed you so much." Henry cried, as he hugged her tightly, ignoring the pain that flared in his wrist.

"Emma-" James stopped short, as he took in the added company. Only one of the extra men was sitting up. He looked worse for wear, with dried up blood caking into his curly brown hair. James had a sense of deja vu flutter over him, as he swore he knew the man before him. The other man was still laying down, a small, soft whimper fluttered up from the ground where he lay.

"I missed you too," Emma kissed the top of Henry's head, before prying his small arms from around her neck. She didn't miss the look of disappointment on his face, as she stood up. Trying to make the look disappear from her son's face, she took his hand in her's before looking up at James. "I need help. These two need medical attention."

James nodded, he had figured as much. He just hoped that whoever they were that they would be able to walk themselves to the truck. It was quite a hike through the thick underbrush of the Storybrooke forest, but he would never be able to get the truck to this spot. Not with the forestry surrounding the small opening on every side. "Can they walk?"

Emma shrugged, before turning to Nikolai. "Nikolai, can you walk?" She asked, as she waited for him to answer her. Slowly, his head lifted, and Emma didn't miss the glassy look in his eyes. Softly, his head nodded up and down. Turning slightly, Emma looked at Henry. "Henry, can you help Nikolai stand up, I have to go check on Graham."

Henry's eyes lit up. Had he really just heard his mother correctly? Did she say...Graham? "Y-yeah." He stuttered out, hoping that she planned on explaining what exactly happened while she was gone.

Emma smiled softly at her son, who knelt down in front of Nikolai. His small hand reached out toward Graham's brother, as he waited for Nikolai to return the handshake. She most definitely would never understand where Henry got his kind, caring, compassionate heart. His trusting ways. It was all quite foreign to her. In fact, at this very moment, there were only three people she trusted, and as much as she hated to admit it, her parents were not on that list. Not yet. It wasn't going to be easy to trust them, even if they sent her away to protect her. She just couldn't forget the twenty-eight years of believing her biological parents hated her. That they didn't even love her enough to take her someplace, but rather dump her on the side of the road. That kind of hurt didn't just disappear.

No, right now, all Emma trusted were the three men in her life. Henry, Graham, and Nikolai. Right now one of those men needed her to help him. Even if she was concerned about some of the things that had happened over in the Enchanted Forest, Emma wasn't about to turn her back on Graham when he needed her.

"Hey." She whispered softly to him. Her hand brushed back an errant curl from his forehead. She eyed his still bandaged shoulder, causing her nose to wrinkle. The white bandage was now completely covered with sticky, red blood.

"Hello, beautiful." Graham smirked weakly. "Did we make it?"

Emma smiled back softly, "We did. We're back in Storybrooke, Graham. James and Henry are going to help us get you to the hospital, okay?"

Graham nodded as he made a move to set up.

"Here, let me help." James said, as he knelt down beside Graham. Suddenly it made sense. Why Nikolai looked familiar, when James had never even met him. Nikolai looked eerily like Graham … which could only mean one thing...

Graham let James heft most of his weight into a standing position. It was only after James got Graham upright that he saw the bleeding shoulder wound.

"Graham, honey, can you walk?" Emma asked, as she immediately fluttered to his injured shoulder.

"I can try." He spoke weakly, his eyes drooping even as he spoke.

"I'll help him, Emma." Nikolai spoke. He didn't appear quite as fragile as he had, but his legs were wavering slightly under his weight.

"I'll help Graham," James spoke up, "Henry, would you mind helping our new friend, Nikolai?"

"Sure thing, Grandpa." Henry spoke up, as he clasped his hand around Nikolai's. "Don't worry, Nikolai. I won't let you fall down."

Nikolai smiled softly at the young boy, "Thank you, Henry."

Henry merely nodded, as he tugged on Nikolai's hand, pulling him forward. James pulled Graham's good arm over his shoulder and hoisted most of the other man's weight onto his shoulders. Emma brought up the rear, with a hand against her still throbbing head, she realized that she had a lot of explaining to do. She just hoped that explanation time could wait until she could at least swallow down some Tylenol and a huge glass of water.

* * *

Snow clutched her cellphone tightly in her hand, as her legs carried her forward as fast as possible. The drive to the hospital had been the longest ten minutes in her life. The text message had been vague: _Emma made it back. Meet us at the hospital. _At that moment, Snow felt like she could strangle her husband, if only for not giving out more information. How badly was Emma injured? Would she need to ready herself for bad news?

After what felt like a lifetime of walking, Snow strode into the waiting room. An audible sigh of relief expelled itself from her lungs as she saw her daughter sitting in one of the chairs. Without a second thought, Snow practically ran forward, her arms wrapping her daughter up in a tight hug. After a mere few seconds, Snow reluctantly released her daughter when she felt Emma trying to pull herself from her mother's grasp.

Snow attempted to hide the hurt from her face. Glancing around the waiting area, Snow's hand clasped over her mouth. Emma was sitting as far away from her father as she could get, and Henry was nowhere to be seen. It suddenly hit her. Regina or Gold did something to her grandson. Snow felt the anger bubbling up inside of her at the thought, as her hands clenched into tight fists.

"Snow." James whispered, grabbing his wife's attention. He motioned for her to join him. Almost in a robotic gesture, Snow walked forward, and let herself collapse into the uncomfortable chair. She stared straight ahead, as James clasped his hand around hers. "It's not what you think." James whispered softly.

Snow's head slowly turned toward her husband, before she jerked her hand from his grasp. "How would I know what to think...with the lackluster amount of details in your text!" Snow growled out, her voice low. "I thought our daughter was seriously injured … possibly dead. Do you know what that felt like James?" Snow fought to keep her voice low as she continued. The anger she felt bubbling up to the surface.

"Snow. Emma is fine." James gestured with his hand, "So is Henry for that matter. He went to grab us all some drinks."

Snow glared at him, "You let him go alone … with Regina lingering around?"

James swallowed thickly. "He tried to get Emma to go with him, but she was still a little unsteady on her feet. She has a slight concussion, nothing serious, but I didn't trust her to not fall down while walking around with Henry. He should be back shortly."

Snow sighed, the anger deflating from her. Emma was mostly unscathed, and Henry was fine. She just didn't understand why they were at the hospital still, if Emma was fine. For the first time since her arrival, Snow stared at her daughter. She took in Emma's appearance. Dirt smudged her cheeks, her hair was matted from sleeping on the ground, and she seemed to have fairly superficial scrapes on her face and arms. It was the tear stains on her cheeks that alarmed Snow.

"She didn't come back alone, Snow."

This caused Snow's head to jerk at neck-break speed toward James. Her eyes large as she took in his words. "Who?"

James offered a small smile. He had always been fond of the man that had risked his own welfare … his own life to save, not only his own life, but his wife and daughter's as well. Did that mean that he was happy about the way that Emma had looked at him? Not at all. Then again, James was fairly certain that he wouldn't be happy with Emma looking at any man like that. She was his baby girl after all, and even if he had only technically known he was a father for a few days, that didn't mean that he didn't have the fatherly instincts.

"Graham." He whispered.

Snow's eyes lit up. James knew that Snow kept a special place in her heart for the huntsman that lost his heart in order to protect her own. Snow had spent countless days, nights, months, and years searching for the young man that had spared her life. Though neither of them had ever seen him as the huntsman again before the curse sat in, James was happy to know that Snow had been able to be friends with the man that had saved her life, for twenty-eight years. Now, she was getting a second chance to get to know the man that had given his life for hers.

"How?"

James shrugged, "Well, I assume that only Graham and Emma are privy to that information. Emma hasn't uttered more than a few words since we found them in the forest."

Snow nodded, "So..." then it hit her like a ton of bricks. Why they were at the hospital. Why Emma looked like her life was about to crumble down around her. Granted, Snow had only saw Emma _after _his death, she did have to admit that the look on Emma's face at the moment was much like a calmer version that Emma's face held when Graham's heart had stopped. "Oh, God." She mumbled softly.

"It's not too bad. Apparently he got shot in the shoulder with an arrow. Emma did her best to keep the infection away, but it didn't help too much. Dr. Whale is surgically repairing the damage now. He expects a full recovery." Snow sighed in relief, as James held up a hand. "That's not all."

Of course it wasn't. She just couldn't tell from the peculiar look on her husband's face if what he was about to say was good news or bad news.

"There was one more person with them when they came through." Snow's eyes closed, hoping with everything inside of her that it wasn't Cora. "I swear, Snow, the man looks almost exactly like Graham."

Snow's head cocked sideways, "Older or younger?"

James tapped his chin for a moment before speaking. "Younger, I believe."

"Brother?"

"It's the only thing that makes sense … right?"

A groan sounded to their left. "Oh for God's sake!" Emma growled. "Nikolai is Graham's brother, but neither of them had any idea that they had a brother. Now, can we stop with all the damn whispering?" Emma barked.

Both of her parents mouths clamped close, as they nodded. Just as Emma leaned her head back and let her eyes drift close, two people sauntered into the waiting room. Snow gasped, one of them she knew...very well, the other one was like she was staring at a ghost.

"Grandma!" Henry squealed, as he ran forward. His arms wrapped around her neck. "That's Nikolai. He's Graham's younger brother. He is so awesome. Kind of like Graham, but different. It's so weird."

Emma chuckled lightly, and shook her head softly. "Hey." She whispered, as Nikolai took a seat beside her.

"Hey. Any word?" He asked, as Emma shook her head.

"How's the head?" She asked, pointing to his forehead that was currently wrapped in thick white gauze.

Nikolai shrugged, "I'm from the Enchanted Forest, Emma. I've had much worse than a bump on the head."

Emma barked out a laugh. "That was no bump on the head, Nikolai. Cora threw you against a tree!"

Nikolai shrugged again, "And yet, she was no match for you." He grinned softly.

Neither of them noticed the three people at the far end of the waiting room staring at them with wide eyes. They had fought with Cora? Emma had beaten Cora? James and Snow both hoped that Whale would show up with information on Graham soon, because neither of them could wait to get information on what exactly went on in the Enchanted Forest.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: **_Apologies for how long this has taken. I've been very busy lately, and then I got sick with a cold. I had the first third of this chapter written a few weeks ago, but disliked it greatly, and had to sit down to rework it. I don't have any particular plans for this one, just some general plans, so if there is something you'd like to see, feel free to say so via review or PM.

* * *

Emma felt herself starting to drift off. Three and a half hours in a cramped waiting room on practically no sleep would do it every single time. It was just as her eyes fluttered close for about the fifth time that she felt a soft tap on her shoulder. In the brief moment that her eyes had been closed she saw remnants of the nightmare that she had left behind. The tap on her shoulder jolted her awake quickly, and she forced her mouth clamped shut, biting her tongue until she tasted blood, to keep from screaming out.

"Miss Swan." Dr. Whale started, and Emma fought the urge to roll her eyes. Formality, she hated it with a passion. Using the prefix was only right in certain circumstances. If you didn't know the person you were talking to, which wasn't correct in this situation, or if you were about to administer bad news.

"Do I want to know? Just … is he alive?"

Dr. Whale knelt down in front of her chair. A kind, soft smile on his face, and Emma cringed. That was not the doctor that she knew. He was a creepy, pervert with a temper, not kind … caring. Emma shuddered, before meeting his eyes. He had important information that she needed.

"Graham is indeed alive, Miss Swan."

Emma didn't fight as hard this time, and allowed her eyes to roll, showing her annoyance. "It's Emma, Dr. Whale."

He nodded, "Okay, Emma. Graham is alive, which is the positive that we need to focus on." Emma stiffened, she definitely didn't like the sound of that. "Emma, Graham's infection was far worse than we originally thought it was. Now, before I continue, know that none of this is you or his..." Dr. Whale paused, jabbing his thumb at Nikolai, "fault. You both did everything you could to prevent infection, but you simply didn't have the correct equipment. The infection started well before he presented with a temperature. That actually is one of the more serious signs of infection and once it reaches that stage ..."

"Just get on with it, please." Emma begged.

"The infection entered Graham's bloodstream before you were able to get the healing herbs into him. We had to take precautions before we could even preform surgery on his shoulder. We gave him a couple of blood transfusions, which seems to be helping filter out the remaining infection, that's the good thing. His temperature is dropping slowly back into a normal range. We were able to repair the damage done to his shoulder. Ultimately, I believe that Graham will make a full recovery, it's just going to take some time to get him there."

Emma nodded, "What do we need to do to help him."

Dr. Whale rocked back on his heels before pulling himself up to his full height. He took the open seat next to Emma. "Well, we're going to be keep him for a few days, maybe a week to ensure that the infection is indeed gone and that his temperature stays normal once it gets back down there. Once we release him, he'll need someone to stay with him to help him out. He'll have some restrictions to ensure that his shoulder heals correctly. He had some superficial tissue damage and some intense muscle damage to his shoulder. After three or four weeks, we'll get him set up with some physical therapy."

"Okay, no worries there. Nikolai will need a place to stay anyway, so they can just room together until Graham is back on his feet."

Dr. Whale nodded, "Okay. I have other patients to check in on. If you have any questions or concerns you know how to get a hold of me."

Emma stood up suddenly, regretting the sudden movement once Nikolai grunted. She had almost forgotten that Graham's brother had been leaning against her after he had fallen asleep. His grunt had woken up the rest of her family, all looking at her with bleary and tired eyes. She held up a finger, before turning back to Dr. Whale.

"Can I see him?" She whispered.

He nodded, a smile on his face. "I'll have a nurse come by with the information. She'll also have some instructions for treatment that Graham will need once he's released. Mainly the cleaning and re-bandaging of his wound."

Emma's face puckered, "Great."

Dr. Whale chuckled before turning away from Emma. After a brief moment Emma turned around and groaned. Four anxious faces stared up at her, and she suddenly realized that it was her job to rely all of Dr. Whale's information to her family.

* * *

Nikolai peered at the remaining three people in the waiting room. Emma had pulled him aside, and rushed through the information she had received on Graham, before being rushed off by a nurse. He swallowed thickly, swiping a hand over his beard covered face. Before Regina had enacted the curse, Nikolai had never had the chance to meet Prince James or Queen Snow White. There had never been an opportunity, but from what he was slowly starting to learn, Emma was descended from royalty, though that was a no brainier, and his brother had saved the entire royal family.

"Nikolai, correct?" Snow asked, as she took a tentative step forward.

Snow gazed at the younger man's face softly. It was a look she had seen before. It was a look she had seen on Graham and Emma's faces before. That of a caged animal looking for a way out. She had begrudgingly accepted that Emma still wasn't quite ready to talk to either her or James, and Snow was willing to give Emma the time and space she so obviously needed. However, she needed someone to talk to her. Someone that had been there. That had witnessed what had happened. She and James needed answers that only three people could give her, and at this time, only one of those people were in any place to give her those answers.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Snow shook her head. "No, Nikolai. Please. Call me Snow. You helped my daughter. You made sure that she was safe. That has warranted you an honorary place in our small family."

Nikolai nodded, "Thank you. It's unnecessary though. I couldn't have just stood by and not helped. That's my brother in there." Nikolai's lips puckered out. "I didn't even know I had a brother. How is that? How does someone live an entire life without knowing they have a brother?"

This time James stood up and walked forward. "Hello, Nikolai. Do you remember me?"

Nikolai nodded, "Hello, Prince James."

James shook his head. "Far too formal, Nikolai. To answer your question though, I lived my life without knowing that I had a twin brother. My parents struck a deal with Rumpelstiltskin to save our farm."

"He received your brother?"

James nodded his head, "Yes. He went to King George, and went on to become Prince James."

Nikolai's eyes widened slightly, "I'm confused sir."

James smiled, "He was killed preparing to battle a dragon. So, I made a new deal with Rumpelstiltskin to save our farm, and I assumed his identity as son to King George."

Nikolai's eyebrow raised, "So then you aren't truly royalty?"

James shrugged his shoulders. "Me? No, I suppose I'm not truly a royal, but Snow is. She was always set to take the throne when her mother died. She was always set to become Queen Snow. She was just a little more stubborn, took a little side journey. I suppose that makes me royalty via marriage."

Nikolai nodded, though still confused. "If your not Prince James then, sir, what is your name? If you don't mind me asking."

James shook his head, "That's quite fine, Nikolai." James said, before extending his hand, "It's David."

Nikolai smiled softly, before accepting the handshake. "That name does seem to fit you better, sir. If you don't mind me saying."

James chuckled, "Not at all, Nikolai. Not at all. If you don't mind me prying, would you mind explaining what went over there?"

Nikolai sighed, as he moved past the two worried parents and sat down. With his head in his hands, he peered up at them, "I probably shouldn't say much. It's really Emma or Graham's place to tell most of the story. What I can tell you is that my brother loves your daughter very much. That he would risk his own life to ensure her safety. I've seen it. Just … give her sometime. From what I was able to gather, she is still having an issue with accepting everything. That and a lot of stuff happened over there. Some of it was great and some of it was horrible and horrific. There are things that I saw over there that I will never be able to get out of my head. Things that will haunt me for the rest of my life. She just needs time. At the very least, wait until Graham is out of the woods, maybe he will tell you himself then."

They both nodded, before Henry stood up, making himself known for the first time, and climbing into an open chair beside Nikolai. "Is Graham going to be okay? Because I don't think that my mom could take him dying again. I don't think I could either. I really like Graham."

Nikolai smiled softly, "Graham should be fine. Emma said he has to stay in the hospital for a little bit, but if all goes well, he can go home sometime later on in the week."

* * *

Emma inched into the small hospital room. A hand clasped over her mouth as she took in the room. Graham lay still on a bed in the middle of the room. Various wires were connecting him to various different machines. Though his skin was generally dark with a thick tan, it had became very pale. It was wrong. All wrong. Nothing about what she was seeing was familiar. She missed that goofy smile that would cross his lips when she'd call him out on his dorky dad jokes. The vibrations that filtered straight down to her bones when he'd laugh. The feel of his rough calloused hands squeezing against hers. Most importantly though, she missed that bright, vibrant blue eyes that held every feeling inside of him.

She shook her head, as she continued to walk into the room. It hadn't even been a full day. Though to be fair, it had been a while since she had seen him smile or heard him laugh. The fear that she might not get a chance to see or hear any of that ever again, pained her. She knew that she couldn't think that way though. Dr. Whale had assured her that he would fully recover from this.

Sighing, she sat down beside his bed and bit her lip. She wouldn't cry. Crying wouldn't help anyone, and it would only stem to piss her off. She hated crying. Instead, she grabbed his limp hand in her own, and relished in the warmth that radiated from it.

"Graham." She whispered. "You have to be alright. You have to make it through all of this, and come out the other side. I need you to stay here with me. I cannot lose you again. It nearly killed me the first time. I was in so much pain, Graham. It hurt so badly to know that you were gone, even if I did barely know you. It was like there was something that pierced my heart the moment I realized I'd never get the chance to know you better. To figure out what your favorite food was, your favorite color, or what you liked to do on the weekends. Now, though, Graham … we've been given a second chance, and I swear to you, Graham, I'm not going to let anything come between us. Nothing will stop me from finding out the answers to all those questions, and so many more. Nothing will stop me from loving you the way that you so deserve. So, please, Graham … please, just wake up. Wake up, flash me that gorgeous lop-sided smile. Whisper my name with that thick Irish accent, and make my knees buckle, because you are the only man that has ever caused my walls to crash down so quickly."

She waited a moment, hope crossing her features for a brief moment. When nothing happened, she sighed, leaning forward. Her head laying against his arm. She'd sit there until kingdom come if she had to. "I love you, Graham." She whispered, her eyes growing heavy as the exhaustion hit her for the second time that day. Slowly, she gave in and let her eyes slip close.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: **_I'm super sorry for the wait. I'm still battling an apparent super cough that's been causing me headaches, that came with my cold. I'm starting to formulate a bit of a plan with this one. I know it's starting out slow, but the next couple of chapters will start with a bit of explosions. Once that happens, I figure that it will all hit the fan until the end. Until then, enjoy. Also, I'd like to get a feel for how you guys feel about Nikolai. I have some pretty big plans for him in this story (which was one of my main reasons to want to write this sequel), but if you guys don't like the character then I'll just place him in the background more. So, more Nikolai or less?

* * *

Everything seemed far away. Like looking down a long tunnel that was closing in around you. The noises around seemed to buzz as if the air around was full of an electric charge. Nothing made much sense. Nothing felt right, except for the warmth and weight lingering on the left-hand side. Despite the pain that seemed to flair up and down his left arm, the warmth radiating from that side felt like _home_.

That was all Graham had ever wanted. A home. A place to call his own. A family. People to love him … to accept him. Though he never thought about it before, Graham realized that while he had many reasons to wish nothing but death upon Regina, he realized that he also now had a reason to thank her.

While most people condemned the curse, and Graham couldn't disagree with them on it. He was actually happy that it happened, and that thought filled him to the brim with guilt. The curse had caused so many people pain. Separating families. Tearing away everyone's happy endings. The curse was the reason that Emma was so shattered and broken, but at the same time, the curse brought him his happy ending. Because of the curse, he was accepted among his peers. He had friends. People who actually cared about him. Because of the curse, he was able to meet Emma under better circumstances. He was able to chip away at the steel wall that covered her beautiful heart and fall so madly in love with her. Emma Swan was his happy ending, Graham was certain of it now. Not even death could keep them apart. That had to account for something, right?

With a moan, Graham cracked an eyelid open and smiled. He had never thought that Emma could ever get more beautiful than she was, but that was before he saw her sleep. The hard edges and tension that generally covered her all too beautiful features smoothed over. The creases in her forehead, the wrinkles under her eyes, all of it smoothed away and left a much young looking Emma Swan in it's wake. This time was no different.

It took him a moment to realize that he was in a hospital. That Emma was clutching his hand so tightly, like his life depended on her touch. He frowned. Before they jumped through the portal he had been find. His brow wrinkled, what had happened? Had he hurt himself when they came through the other side?

Graham barely registered the door creaking open to his right. Slowly, his head turned in the direction of the door and watched his brother slowly walk inside. Nikolai didn't immediately notice that Graham was awake. His eyes were solely on Emma's sound asleep body. Slowly, Nikolai's attention went back to his brother's.

"Graham. You're awake, brother!" Nikolai whispered softly as he walked forward. Trying to not jostle Emma too much, Nikolai leaned forward and hugged his brother. "You gave us all quite a scare. Her more so than anyone else."

Graham sighed. He never wanted to scare Emma ever again. He never wanted her to feel like she would lose him ever again. "What happened? The last thing I remember was jumping into the portal."

Nikolai shrugged. "I'm quite foggy on the details myself. Apparently when we came through, we all hit our heads, because we were all unconscious. Because Emma was the only one of us to not have a fresh head wound, she woke up first. I woke up second. You … never did. I don't know what happens, and I don't think Emma will have any more answers for you either. Though we both would guess that you hit your shoulder somehow, because the wound had reopened by the time Emma woke up."

Graham nodded, "So that's why I'm in the hospital?"

Nikolai shook his head. "That's why you were brought to the hospital, brother. That isn't why you're still here."

Graham's eyebrow lifted, as he felt the weight on his left hand side shift.

"Oh thank God." He heard the audible sound of relief, as Emma leaned into him. "I was so worried, Graham. You were so pale!"

Graham's eyes drifted close, as he wrapped his good arm around Emma's waist. "I'm not going anywhere, Emma. You can't get rid of me that easily."

He felt her chuckle awkwardly against his chest. "Good."

"So, when am I going home?"

Emma raised up and shared a look with Nikolai before sighing. "Not for a few days at least, Graham."

"Why?" He groaned.

"Because, your shoulder … the infection. It was a lot more worse than we thought. It got into your bloodstream, Graham. They had to give you a transfusion in hopes to filter out the infection. They want to keep you for at least a few days to be sure that the infection is gone."

Graham sighed, "But hospitals are so boring." He whined softly.

Emma couldn't help but laugh. "We'll visit every single day. I'll stay until visiting hours are over. I'm sure Henry has plenty of horrible board and card games that he can bring."

Graham nodded, "Okay, okay. I see you're not going to even try to save me from this antiseptic smelling prison. I do have another question, my fair princess."

Emma rolled her eyes and shook her head. She could barely hide the teasing grin that pulled at her lips. "What's that, my handsome huntsman?"

"Where am I going to stay once the warden sees fit that I be released?"

Emma shrugged, "I'm working on it … or well, I will be. Since you and Nikolai both will need a place to live, and apartments in Storybrooke seem to be few and far between and per doctor's orders that you can't be on your own for a while, I'll just look for a two bedroom apartment that you two can share."

Graham chuckled. "Sure, of course. Once I'm free, I won't actually be free, I see."

Emma laughed loudly, "Since when did you become Dr. Seuss?" When both Graham and Nikolai raised an questionable eyebrow at her, Emma threw her hands up in exasperation. "Seriously? I understand Nikolai not getting it, he's never been to this land, but Graham I am shocked and hurt." Emma mocked placing a hand over her heart.

"I guess I need to figure out who this Dr. Seuss is." Graham taunted.

"Yes, you do." Emma chuckled lightly before leaning down and kissing his cheek. "I better let everyone know that you're awake. Mary Margaret will be relieved to know that you're okay."

Nikolai took the free chair on Graham's right hand side. "As will little Henry. Poor little guy was very upset at the thought of Graham not being okay."

Emma smiled happily. Her biggest worry, aside from Graham's health, was what Henry would think of Graham not only being alive but dating her. Would he be okay with? However, from the sounds of it, Henry thought highly of Graham, and it put that worry to rest.

* * *

"Your parents left about an hour ago. They took Henry home so he could get some sleep. He put up a bit of a fight though."

Emma nodded softly, as they walked slowly down the hospital corridor. Neither one of them were particularly happy to being kicked out of Graham's room. She sighed softly.

"You've spent more time with them then I have … well since I found out the truth anyway."

Nikolai's eyebrow cocked slightly, as he grasped Emma's arm to halt her steps. "Do explain."

Emma shrugged. "They practically abandoned me. Good reason or not, it doesn't change the fact that for my entire life I thought that I was no better than a piece of garbage on the side of the road." Emma's mouth clamp shut after that, as her hand flew to cover her mouth. "I shouldn't have said that. God. Like you want to hear my sob story after everything that you and Graham have been through."

Nikolai sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. With a loose grip on Emma's arm, he lead her the rest of the way down the short corridor and into a chair in the waiting room. He wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to say, when he wasn't even exactly sure how he felt. Obviously the three of them had similar backgrounds, but Nikolai was definitely able to see why both Graham and Emma were far more closed off than he was. While his parents had abandoned him, much like they had his brother, a family had taken him in, had cared for him. Emma and Graham didn't have the same luxury.

"Don't apologize, Emma. You're quite allowed to feel whatever it is that you're feeling. You don't need to feel sorry for that, and don't ever feel like you need to apologize to me for something that you said. I have a rather thick skin. Plus, it's nice to learn more about you. I see how my brother looks at you, and you him. I would love to learn more about the woman that my brother is in love with."

Emma blushed slightly as she let her hair hang in front of her face to cover up the light red on her cheeks. "It wasn't their fault. Not really. I feel bad about blaming them … but they have to understand that the choice that they made caused me plenty of pain."

Nikolai nodded softly, "You said that they abandoned you, but yet you ended up here, in Storybrooke. The land without magic. How?"

Emma chuckled. "The blue fairy ..." She stopped instantly, and bit her lip to keep from laughing. Her life was reduced to a corny fairytale story of how the blue fairy and Geppetto had screwed her out of a semi-normal life. "She had Marco... er, Geppetto create some sort of magical wardrobe ..." Emma trailed off again.

"Is that the magical dust that Graham collected from the castle?"

Emma nodded, "Yeah. That was my... Snow White's castle." Emma faltered again, before continuing. "The wardrobe was able to send two people to the land without magic prior to the curse hitting. I wasn't supposed to go through alone, but something happened. Geppetto sent his son, Pinocchio through. They didn't have to choice, I know that. They had to send me through, but I was a newborn Nikolai. I was only a few minutes old when they sent me into this world with nothing but a seven-year-old boy to look after me."

Nikolai nodded again, "I can see how that could make you upset with them, Emma. It's just, from what you just told me, they only had your best interest at heart. You can't resent them for that."

Emma sighed, "I know, Nikolai. Believe me. Especially since I did the same thing to my own son. Like mother like daughter, right? I just, I know that things would probably be better if I told them about my past. If they understood what I went through when I was growing up."

"Then why not share that information with them, Emma? It could only bring you closer to your parents. To your family."

Tears pressed tightly against her eyes. She clenched them shut against the wave of emotion. "Because I can't stand the thought of hurting them like that. I might not be in a place were I'm ready to forgive them, I do care about them. Mary Margaret … she was family to me before I broke the curse. She was my best friend, she was my family. Looking at her now, I see the difference from the woman she was when I first arrived in Storybrooke, but I still see Mary Margaret. I still see the fragile school teacher that needed me to protect her. I can't hurt her, Nikolai, and that is all I will be doing if I tell them the honest truth about my past. It's an ugly story. It's one that even I wish I didn't know."

Nikolai sighed as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe that is the only way for you to fully heal yourself, Emma. Keeping things like that inside only serves one purpose. To hurt you. Reopen the scars and flush out the wounds. It's the only way for them to truly heal. Only this time, you won't be alone. You have an entire group of people on your side, including your parents and young Henry."

Emma sighed. "Why do you have to make so much damn sense?"

Nikolai shrugged and smiled softly. "Perhaps I was better suited as a philosopher?"

"I think you might have been, Nikolai."

* * *

Emma eased the front door open, keeping her hand clasped tightly around the key-chain to keep it from jingling. The last thing she wanted to do was to wake up Mary, David, or Henry. It had been a long day for everyone involved, and from the ragged appearances on her small family's faces, the days leading up to today had been long and hard as well. It made her intrigued to find out what exactly they had been doing while she had been stuck in the Enchanted Forest.

Softly, Emma pressed the front door closed behind her. She had tried to talk Nikolai into staying at the apartment tonight, but he refused to impose on her or her family. Instead, she had taken him to Granny's to get a room at the bed and breakfast. It didn't mean that she didn't feel bad about it. Nikolai had never been to this realm before. He didn't know how to _be_ around this place. Everything was so different from what he was used to. She had left him with the promise to pick him up first thing in the morning so they could spend the day with Graham.

Slowly, Emma sat down on the couch and sighed in relief. Hell, the chairs in the hospital had been relief compared to the ground or boulders that she had used as furniture in the Enchanted Forest. A soft smile upturned her lips at the thought of sleeping in her own bed. Of course it would be a tight squeeze, sharing the small bed with her son, but being away from him for so long made her feel a bit clingy anyway.

Leaning forward, Emma carefully unlaced her boots and peeled them from her feet. Instant relief fluttered up from her poor feet. After a few minutes, Emma stood up and wonder toward the stairs. She lingered for a moment, before sending a backward glance to her parents bedroom. Part of her knew that Nikolai was right. If she wanted to have at least a halfway healthy relationship with her parent that she would have to share her painful past with them. That part of herself wanted to wake them up, to get it over with before she came to her senses and denied Nikolai his truth.

Walking softly toward their curtained off room, Emma leaned against the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. In that moment she realized how selfish she was being. Only thinking of herself wouldn't help anyone. Seeing them look so peaceful brought a sad smile to Emma's face. David was lying on his back with Mary's head tucked against his chest. Just as Emma made a move to leave, two things happened. Her parents started to stir, apparently not in as deep of a sleep as Emma thought, and a ear-splitting scream filled the air. Emma's eyes widened in fear, "What the hell." She mumbled before quickly darting for the stairs. Something was wrong with her son. No one ever screamed like that just for the hell of it.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: **_Yay! A quicker update. I knew I could do it! This chapter ended differently than I had originally planned. The original end for this chapter will end up being the beginning of the next chapter (which will involve a lot of Nikolai). I am so glad that you all like Nikolai so much. I'm happy that I was able to create a character for you guys that you enjoy reading about. I hope to continue on with that, and hope that you continue to love Nikolai as I have big plans for him in this story. This is of course an Emma/Graham story, but Nikolai's become a big part of their story now, and I'm happy to give him what I hope to be a good storyline. I don't want him to be just a background player who is only around when Emma/Graham need him. I want him to have his own story as well. So while this will be mainly Emma/Graham based, there will be plenty of Charming family feels, Humbert family feels (Nikolai/Graham bonding), and hopfully loads of Graham/Emma/Henry bonding. Enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Without a second glance at her parents, who were staring at her wide-eyed, Emma made a beeline for the steps to the loft bedroom. Taking the steps two at a time, Emma reached the top quickly. She could hear her parents bounding up the stairs after her, but she paid them no mind. Right now the only thing that mattered was her son. Henry needed her, and dammit she was going to be there for him this time.

She threw the door open quickly, and rushed forward. Emma sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled her son's small body into her arms and rocked him gently back and forth.

"Ssh, Henry. It's okay. I'm here. I'm here." Emma spoke softly, as she brushed a couple of sweaty strands of hair off of Henry's forehead.

Emma's heart started to race when Henry's eyes popped open and he screamed louder. She didn't know what to do, because she didn't know what was wrong with him. She needed to call Dr. Whale, she knew she needed to call him, and yet her body wouldn't move from her place on the edge of the bed.

"Emma, can I?" Snow asked, as she nudged Emma's shoulder softly.

Emma looked up at Snow helpless as she passed her son into Snow's open arms. Without another word, Snow turned toward James, her brow wrinkled slightly.

"James, the necklace, it's gone." Snow pointed out.

James pulled down the front of Henry's shirt and noted that Snow was right. The necklace was always perched under Henry's shirt, tucked softly against his chest. Now it was gone.

"What necklace? What the hell is going on?" Emma prodded, her frustration showing on her face.

"Just a minute, Emma, please." Snow hated saying the words, but at the moment they had to get Henry to wake up before he ended up injured again. "Come on, Henry. Come on, my brave grandson, wake up." Snow gently shook him. After a few minutes Henry finally gasped and came too. He gripped his arm tightly, as tears dripped down his cheeks. Snow sighed, as she carefully pulled back Henry's hand and groaned. "James, please go call Doc. We need to get this taken care of quickly."

James nodded, before shooting his daughter an apologetic look. As soon as James was gone, Emma turned toward her son and saw the deep, red, angry burn on his arm.

"Henry, can you sit on your bed for a moment please? I need to talk to your grandmother." Henry nodded his head, as the remainder of his tears dried against his cheeks. Snow could hear the barely controlled anger and frustration in Emma's voice, as Emma grabbed a hold of Snow's elbow and pulled her from the bedroom. The door slammed shut behind them, as Emma turned her anger filled eyes on her mother. "What in the hell is going on."

Snow sighed. "It's the sleeping curse, Emma."

Emma sighed, rubbing her thumbs against her temples. She was too damn tired to hear about fairytale related shit at the moment, but she also knew that it was important. That her mother wouldn't lie to her about what was wrong with her son. "What about it?"

Snow's foot kicked at the floor, something that reminded Emma of Mary Margaret. It had been her go to defense when she was embarrassed or upset. "When James woke me from the sleeping curse. A few nights later I woke up screaming. I had dreamt that I was in this fiery room." Snow paused as she turned her back on Emma before pulling down one corner of her nightgown.

Emma's mouth bobbed open to stop Snow, but ended up with her mouth hanging open when she saw the angry, pink scar on her shoulder. "What the hell?"

"You see, Emma. The fire room, it isn't a dream. It's a real room. It only exists in a netherworld. You have to be put under the sleeping curse and awoken from it in order to return to the netherworld."

"Wait a damn second. Are you trying to tell me that my son goes to this netherworld when he sleeps?"

Snow sighed before nodding. "Yes."

"What is this necklace you were going on about?"

Snow's eyebrows wrinkled. "That's what I don't get! Every since Rumpelstiltskin gave Henry that necklace, he doesn't go to bed without it." Snow frowned deeply.

"What's it do?"

"It helps him control his time in the fire room. There is no way to stop him from drifting to that room when he goes to sleep. He will eventually stop on his own. I did. Until then, Rumpelstiltskin gave him an enchanted necklace that would help him control his actions. To stop him from getting injured in the room. Because the fire room is magic based, then the burns that you receive from that room are magic based as well. The first time he ended up in that room, he got burned. The next morning he got very sick. Thankfully Doc had some herbs that had healing powers much like what could be found in the enchanted forest. The herbs healed his burn and forced the fever from his body. I'm hoping Doc still has some of those herbs, before Henry gets sick like last time."

Emma's knees weakened as she slid to the floor. "Oh God. I was off in the enchanted forest, so happy that I found Graham … and Henry was here dealing with all of that without me?" Tears filled her eyes, and Emma chalked it up to exhaustion. If anyone brought it up again, she'd deny the fact, but at that moment she just really needed to cry.

"James and I, we took care of him, Emma. We would've never let any harm come to him. Believe me, if I could have stopped him from venturing into the fire room, I would have."

Emma looked up at Snow and offered a weak smile. She would definitely deny this as well, "Thanks."

"Anything for you." Snow patted Emma's shoulder, before disappearing back into Henry's room.

Emma stared forlornly at the door, with a frown etched on her face. How in the world was she going to make this up to her son?

* * *

Graham awoke the next morning covered in a thick sheen of sweat. Using his good arm, he swiped his hand over his face before hitting the call button. Laying back against the pillow, Graham tilted his head toward the door and waited. His eyebrows knitted together as he waited for nurse to come through the door. After a moment, a smiling face entered the room.

"Ah, Mr. Humbert. What can I do for you this morning?" The nurse asked, as she turned off his call light.

Graham attempted to sit up a little bit, before swiping his hand against his head again. "I seem to be sweating a lot." He pointed out.

The nurse took a closer look, before smiling brightly at him. "That's a good thing, Mr. Humbert. The sweating signifies that the infection is nearly out of your system. The sweating means that your temperature has completely broken. A few days without a temperature and you can go home."

This time Graham smiled. He loved the thought of going home. Spending time with Emma. Getting to see Henry, Snow, and James again. Though he couldn't deny the bit of nervous that littered his stomach at the thought of living with his brother. Would they get along? Would they be able to stand to be around each other that much? It was all so uncertain. Especially since Graham didn't know much about his brother.

The nurse gave him a pat on his good shoulder, "You have visitors as well, Mr. Humbert. Would you like me to send them back?"

Graham's eyebrows knitted, "Yes, please."

The nurse nodded, before disappearing from the room. Graham sat, nervously in his bed as he awaited his visitors. He knew what to expect. He knew that it would be Emma and Nikolai, but he couldn't help but hope that the rest of Emma's family would be with her. He really wanted nothing more than to see them all. He hadn't been able to see Snow and James since the curse had been broken. A small knock sounded from the door, and Graham couldn't stop the smile that crossed his lips. "Come in." He called.

The door opened softly as four people ushered themselves inside the small room that Graham was occupying. Emma wasted no time, before filtering over to the empty chair beside Graham's bed and sitting down.

"How're you feeling?" She asked, as her thumb rubbed circles against his hand.

"Much better." His smile only grew in size, as he nodded for the remaining visitors to have a seat.

"Graham." Snow whispered, as she walked around his bed and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for taking care of Emma over there."

Graham nodded, "No thanks needed, Snow. It was my honor to take care of her." As he spoke, he squeezed Emma's hand when he felt her stiffen slightly.

James patted Graham's leg awkwardly. "I know that I never really got much of a chance to know you, but I owe you a great deal. Thank you, for saving my entire family."

Graham squirmed slightly under the affection that he was receiving from the royal family. "You're welcome, James." Graham muttered, before wishing he had added _prince _in front of his name.

James merely offered Graham a small smile, before retreating back beside his wife. Graham peered around Snow's hip at Henry who was peeking at him from a distance.

"Henry?" Emma called. "What's the matter?"

Henry sighed, as he came around his grandmother. He eyed the chair that sat opposite of his mother's, before climbing up beside Graham on the bed. Tenderly, Henry cradled his newly bandaged arm in his lap.

Graham shared a look with Emma, before disentangling his fingers from hers. He reached his hand out to Henry's shoulder, and put a small amount of pressure on his shoulder to gain his attention. "You okay?" Graham asked softly.

Henry frowned, before pointing at Graham's shoulder. "Does it hurt?"

Graham glanced at his bandaged shoulder and back at Henry. "A little bit. Not too badly. You're mom took pretty good care of me, though."

Henry sighed again. "Were you brave?"

Graham glanced around the room, taken aback by Henry's question. Everyone's expression read the same. None of them had any idea where it was that Henry was headed with his line of questioning.

"I guess. I don't really know. I guess it depends on what you mean by brave." Graham answered truthfully.

Henry turned tear-filled eyes toward Graham, before groaning and swiping his hand against his eyes. "You didn't cry, right? People who are brave, they don't cry when something hurts."

Realization hit Graham as he eyed Henry's injured arm. "Does yours hurt, Henry?"

Henry shrugged his shoulders and bit back a hiss. "A little bit, I guess. My mom and grandma took real good care of me though."

Graham smiled softly, "I bet they did. Were you brave?" Graham asked, even though he was pretty sure he knew what Henry's answer would be.

"Nope." Henry answered quickly, popping the _p_ as he spoke. His demeanor and attitude reminded Graham so much of Emma.

"Why do you think that you weren't brave, Henry?" He prodded.

Henry shrugged again. "Because I cried."

Graham sighed, as he attempted to sit up a little better. "Henry, look at me." Graham waited for a moment, as Henry's head turned toward Graham. "Just because you cried, doesn't mean you're not brave. Trust me. I've cried over little things. Things that didn't even hurt me. Do you think that makes me any less brave?" Graham waited as Henry shook his head. "Being brave is facing up to things that hurt you or make you afraid. Crying has nothing to do with whether or not a man is brave. Do you understand?"

Henry nodded, "I guess. I just, I wish I hadn't cried is all."

"What happened to your arm, Henry?"

Henry looked around the room, almost as if asking for permission to tell Graham, before turning back to him. "I have these really bad dreams about a room made of fire. Sometimes I wake up with burns on my arms. I hate it when that happens because then Doc puts this really nasty smelling gel on my arm."

Graham's eyes filled with tears as realization hit him. He had heard rumors of a room of fire. That those put under a sleeping curse generally found themselves stuck in a burning room of fire. "I'm sorry that happens to you, Henry, but you know what? I think that you are the bravest eleven-year-old I've ever met. I know that I wouldn't be as brave as you are to face something like that every night. I'm proud of you."

Henry's face lit up in a bright smile, as Henry darted forward and hugged Graham who groaned at the shot of pain that filtered down from his shoulder. "Thanks, Graham."

Graham fought against the pain and smiled at Henry. "You're welcome, Henry. You're so welcome." After a moment Graham realized that someone was missing. He turned toward Emma, who had tears in her eyes. "Where is Nikolai?"

Emma frowned slightly. "I'm not sure. We stopped by the Bed and Breakfast to pick him up, and he wasn't in his room."

Graham's frown mirrored Emma's. He had to admit that it was weird that his brother was missing. Especially considering that Nikolai knew nothing or no one in this town.

* * *

_**A/N:** _So, who has a guess of what happened or where Nikolai is? All will be answered in the next chapter. Until then!


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: **_Please enjoy. I hope you like the direction I'm going with Nikolai's character. Also, I think I quite enjoy writing protective!Graham.

* * *

Nikolai woke with a start. Sweat curled it's way around his brow, his breathing heavy. The dream, no, the _nightmare _had been so real. He had been so helpless as he watched Cora massacred Emma and Graham. She had laughed the entire time, as he watched his brother's heart ripped from his chest. It glowed with each beat in her hand. She had pulled the heart to her lips and whispered into it. Graham's face paled as he screamed no. Almost like he had no control over his body, Graham stood up in a robotic manner and beat Emma to death with his bare hands. Tears rolled down his cheeks, and Nikolai could only sit there tied to a tree and watch his brother commit murder. Not just any murder, he had watched his brother kill the woman that Graham loved more than anyone else. Tears had rolled down Nikolai's cheeks as Cora laughed louder as she crushed Graham's heart. His body crumpled into a lifeless bundle. Her evil eyes turned toward Nikolai, her hand reaching into his chest.

"Just a dream. Just a dream. Just a dream." He chanted, louder with each word, trying to control his nearly gasping breathing.

A knock sounded on his door. His nose wrinkled, as he pulled back the blanket that had been covering his body. Emma had given him some clothing to help him fit into Storybrooke a little better. He picked up the t-shirt that he had disregarded earlier, and pulled it over his head.

"Who is it?" Nikolai called. He knew that it was still too early to be Emma, and he didn't know anyone else in town.

"Ruby. I help out Granny."

Nikolai sighed, before pulling the door open. "Sorry." Nikolai mumbled, as he ran his hand through his messy brown curls. "I – can I trust you?" Nikolai hated that he was losing his trusting side, but being in the Enchanted Forest with Graham and Emma and seeing what others were willing to do – it made him less likely to trust others.

"Yes. Sorry, I was out when Emma checked you in last night. You met my Granny though. She runs this place, and the diner next door. Me and Emma are friends, and I go way back with Emma's parents. I just, I heard some screaming and you're the only guest here. I wanted to make sure that you're alright."

Nikolai smiled softly, before pushing the door open further. "I'm sorry, I'm being rude. Please, come inside." He waited as Ruby nodded her head and entered his room. "Thank you. I just met Emma's parents tonight at the hospital. They're quite kind."

Ruby smiled softly, as she stood awkwardly to one side of the room. "Yeah, Snow and James, they've always been kind. Don't get me wrong, if you mess with their family or friends, they won't think twice about issuing some sort of punishment. Generally though, they are quite forgiving. I mean, Regina is still alive after all."

Nikolai's brow furrowed, "Regina. She's the Queen, correct? The one that cursed everyone to this realm?"

Ruby nodded, "Yeah, but here we call her Madam Mayor – or at least we did until Emma broke the curse. Since then she's kind of laid low." Ruby paused, eying Nikolai carefully. "It's true, isn't it?"

Nikolai smiled softly, "What would that be?"

Ruby chuckled, "You really are Graham's brother."

Nikolai nodded, "Yes, I am."

Ruby pointed to the empty spot on his bed, "Mind if I have a seat?"

Nikolai patted the spot tenderly, "Not at all."

Ruby sat down, and crossed her legs. "Snow told me that Emma won't talk about what happened over there. Will you tell me what happened?"

Nikolai stiffened slightly, before sighing. "It's not my place to say much. I wasn't over there alone. Emma will talk when she's ready, that much I've noticed. She quite stubborn. What I can say is that amongst the good stuff that happened, there was an equal amount of bad stuff that happened. Stuff that haunts me, I suppose though, that's what bad stuff does. Haunts you?"

Ruby sat completely enthralled, not only by Nikolai's story but his way of speaking. It had been twenty-eight years since she had heard anyone speak the way that everyone she knew used to. Not to mention that Nikolai looked more like Graham's twin then his younger brother. She'd be lying if she said that in the twenty-eight years that they had been cursed to this town, that she didn't have feelings for Graham. At the very least, find him attractive.

Realizing that she had been quiet for longer than what the moment really called for, Ruby smiled softly. "So, then Graham is really alive?"

Nikolai nodded. "Yes. We were very worried about him. He took that arrow to the arm for Emma. I think that he would do most anything for Emma. My brother loves her very much."

Ruby nodded, "I have a feeling that Emma feels the same. She thought she was pretty good at hiding her feelings about our former sheriff, but she wasn't. We all knew that she cared about him and vice versa."

Nikolai crossed his arms over his chest. "You knew my brother well?" When Ruby nodded in the affirmative, Nikolai smiled brightly. "I would love to hear some stories."

"Well then..." In that moment, Ruby realized that she hadn't even thought to ask him what his name was.

Nikolai held out a hand, "How very rude of me. My name is Nikolai Humbert."

Ruby accepted his hand and shook it softly. "Nice to meet you, Nikolai. How does breakfast sound?"

Nikolai nodded, "Fantastic. I'm starving."

* * *

Nikolai settled onto a bar stool as Ruby disappeared into the back. The nightmare he had was still lingering in the back of his mind, almost like it was waiting for him to close his eyes again. His thumbs put gentle pressure against his temples, rubbing slow and calculating circles.

"Is bacon and eggs alright, Nikolai?" Ruby called from the back.

Nikolai's nose scrunched up at her question. "Uh, sure, I guess." He heard her chuckle, and the musical sound brought a smile to his face. "What's so funny?"

Ruby peered around the corner for a moment, a grin on her face. "I just, I keep forgetting that you've never been here before. I don't understand how the curse brought some of us here and left other behind. That's not how it was designed, trust me on that."

Nikolai shrugged his shoulders, "I don't fully understand it either. There were whispers that those of us that were left behind had something to do with Cora."

Ruby gasped, it had been many years since she had heard that name. Though she had never actually met the woman herself, the stories that Snow had shared with her were enough to know that the woman was worse than Regina had ever thought to be. "Cora was there with you?"

Nikolai sighed, his head leaning heavily against his hand. "Yeah. She tried to rule those left behind, but a few warriors that ran the survivor's camp, led a rebellion against her. Took her by surprise and locked her up in the dungeon under the camp."

Ruby shook her head, as she flipped both eggs and the bacon. Something didn't sit right with her. Cora wasn't one to be taken by surprise. She was far too powerful. Of course Ruby knew that all magic and power had it's limits. That's why Rumpelstiltskin had controlled so many people's future. It was the only way he could gain extra power, the power of control over others. However, Cora could see an attack coming. At least that was what she had gained from Snow's stories.

"Are you sure that she was really in that dungeon?"

Nikolai stood up and walked toward the back. He leaned his shoulder against the door jam with his arms crossed over his chest. "No. I didn't really spend much time at the survivor's camp. The warriors that ran the camp were a little intense for my taste. I never actually saw her, but then again I was lucky enough to not see the inside of the dungeon. I just heard the stories from other survivor's. I don't really know much about Cora, so to me it seemed plausible."

Ruby heard something in his voice, like he wasn't being completely honest with her. "You're – not working for her, are you?"

Nikolai's eyes widened at Ruby's accusation. "Cora? No. I'm pretty sure that she's dead."

Ruby's eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?"

Nikolai sighed, as his foot kicked at an imaginary clump of dirt. Ruby bit back a chuckle, having seen Graham do the exact same thing once or twice in the past. "I've said too much. I really don't want to lose Emma's trust. I've gathered that she doesn't trust easily, and I'd hate to lose something that she doesn't seem to give out easily."

Ruby smiled, "That's sweet, Nikolai, but Emma won't care. Like you said, she'll eventually discuss what went on over there, and when she does I'll just pretend to be surprised."

Nikolai stared at Ruby for a moment, and she could see the inner battle raging inside of him. Reaching forward, she placed her hand on his arm. "Hey. I promise you, Emma won't be angry with you. If she is, I'll just tell her that I forced you to tell me. She knows how pushy I can be." Ruby finished with a wink.

Sighing, Nikolai nodded, "Alright. We got to Lake Nostros. I knew that it was the only way for Graham and Emma to both return, but Cora beat us there. She flung Graham against a tree, and went on about how she was going to use Emma to her advantage. Emma started to lash out at Cora, and Cora got angry. She started to advance toward Emma, and I tried to take her by surprise but she flung me so hard that my head bounced off the ground. I couldn't get back up, but I could hear everything they said. Cora was planning to do something horrible to Emma, she was going to take something from her.."

Ruby gasped, her hand fluttering to her mouth. "Emma's heart?"

Nikolai nodded, "Yeah. I couldn't see what happened next, but somehow Emma removed Cora's heart, and Graham squeezed it into dust. Cora disappeared. Graham and Emma both said she was dead and that we didn't have to worry about her anymore."

Ruby sighed softly. She could tell by the way that Nikolai's face was contorted, that what he was saying was the truth, but Ruby couldn't believe that it would be that easy to kill Cora.

* * *

"What do you mean, you can't find him?" Graham asked, a look of worry on his face as he peered around the room. It was almost like he expected Nikolai to just pop up out of nowhere and yell '_gotcha'_

"He wasn't in his room, Graham. I don't know how else to explain it." Emma answered softly, as she rubbed her hand against his arm, trying to get him to calm down.

"You don't sound very upset, Emma. Why don't you sound upset? Nikolai doesn't know anyone here. He's never been to this realm, Emma. What if something happened to him?" His eyes widened slightly, "What if Regina found him?"

Emma groaned, "Graham, I really think you're working yourself up over nothing. Regina is pretty powerful, and an evil bitch, I'll give you that. I just don't think she has the means to figure out that Nikolai is your brother _that _quickly. Maybe he stopped off at the diner for some food and forgot to leave a note."

Graham's mouth bobbed open to protest Emma's perfect defense, when footsteps and voices could be heard in the hallway. Everyone's head turned toward the door as Nikolai walked in laughing with Ruby on his heels. Emma and her family broke out in huge knowing smiles, at the look on both, Nikolai and Ruby's faces.

"Oh, wow, I – uh – wasn't expecting so many people." Nikolai stammered, as he stared at Emma with his brow creased before taking in the very angry look on his brother's face. "Is something wrong?"

"You knew that Emma was coming to pick you up, and you didn't think to leave a note?" Graham asked, sternly.

"I – uh – no? Look, I just, I woke up early this morning and Ruby offered to make me breakfast. I was starving, so I said yes. It just didn't dawn on me to leave a note. I'm sorry."

Emma's smile faltered only slightly, as she pulled on Henry's unbandaged arm and nodded at her parents. "Well, speaking of food, we need to go get some breakfast. Plus, I'm sure Graham has plenty more to say about your disappearing act. So, we're going to go, but we'll be back later." Emma sent a wink in Graham's direction, before moving toward the door. "Good luck," she whispered to Nikolai, before mouthing '_nice'_ at Ruby.

The four of them exited the room, and as they started their journey toward the front of the hospital, they could hear Graham questioning Nikolai, loudly.


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N:** _Apologies for the long wait. I had some issues with this chapter. From here on out things are going to start falling into place.

* * *

A week passed by almost uneventful. Since Nikolai had scared Graham when he hadn't shown up at the hospital with Emma, he had been very careful to be on time to visit his brother. Sometimes he came alone, other times Ruby joined him. After nearly five days in the hospital, Dr. Whale deemed it safe enough for Graham to be released. In those days, Emma had split her time between the hospital, sometimes with her family, and looking for a place for Graham to stay. It was until the day before Graham was released that Emma found out that there was an apartment in her family's building that was open and available to be rented.

Emma had hated having to speak to Mr. Gold about renting out the apartment to Graham and his brother, but it had ended up being far less horrible than she had expected. Even though she had vehemently denied that she needed back up, James had stood by her side while she spoke to Gold.

That had been three days ago, and it had been two days since she had seen Graham. It was killing her knowing that he was so close, and yet seemed so far away. Even if she knew that Graham and Nikolai needed the time to adjust to their new living situation. Two day though, Emma decided, was long enough, mainly because she couldn't take another minute of not seeing him.

She knocked softly on the door, and heard laughing on the other side. A smile erupted on her lips, but suddenly faded when Nikolai answered the door.

"Emma!" Nikolai grinned, like it had been an eternity since he had last seen her.

"Hey, Nikolai." Emma greeted, as Nikolai pulled her into a hug.

"I was wondering when you'd come for a visit." Nikolai pointed out.

"I wanted to give you and Graham some adjusting time." Emma answered softly, her eyes grazing the open space before her. "Speaking of, where is Graham?"

Nikolai sighed, "Sleeping. Those pain medicines that the doctor gave him knock him out cold."

Emma nodded, "How is his shoulder?"

Nikolai shrugged, "He claims that he's fine. I basically have to force him to take the pain medicine."

Emma's eyebrows pinched up, "Are you sure he's in pain?"

Nikolai stared at Emma for a minute before nodding, "Of course I am. He tries to hide it. He's really good at hiding it, but I'll catch him grimacing though. I don't like seeing him hurt."

Emma nodded, "Alright. Can I go see him?"

Nikolai chuckled, "Of course you can." Nikolai moved out of the way to allow Emma to enter the apartment. Once inside she saw Ruby standing in the kitchen area. "I have a lot to learn about cooking in this realm. Ruby is trying to teach me. It's not going well."

Ruby smiled at Emma, "He's kind of pathetic, Emma."

Emma couldn't help the chuckle that erupted from her mouth. "That's funny, if it hadn't been for Nikolai or Graham, I probably would have starved to death in the forest."

Ruby shrugged, "You aren't used to having to hunt your own food. It's understandable. Here, the food is already hunted, skinned, and ready to be cooked. I don't understand what's so hard for him to get about that."

Emma looked between them and shrugged, "He's a man. Graham wasn't exactly a culinary chef before either."

"I should go sit with Graham, nice to see you again, Ruby. We should get together soon."

"Absolutely!" Ruby chirped, before turning back to the stove.

* * *

Emma sat beside Graham on his bed. He was still sound asleep, and she didn't have the heart to wake him up. Not when he looked so peaceful. Slowly, as the minutes ticked by, her eyes started to droop close. Sleep was one thing she had been lacking, with Henry's reoccurring nightmares along with her own. It was always a toss up which one of them would wake up breathing hard and sweating profusely. Emma though had gotten fairly good at hiding the fact that she was having nightmares. She had to, she didn't want anyone to know that what had happened in the Enchanted Forest had effected her so badly.

"Hey, beautiful." Came a thick accented voice.

Emma didn't even attempt to fight the smile on her lips. "Hey." She craned her head in his direction. "How're you feeling?"

Graham awkwardly shrugged one shoulder, "Not too bad. A little bit of pain. Nikolai keeps making me take the pain pills though. I hate taking them. I don't like sleeping so much."

Emma turned onto her side, facing Graham. "Maybe you need that sleep, Graham. We didn't exactly get great sleep over _there_, and you are recovering from a pretty serious infection."

Graham ran his fingertips over Emma's cheek before speaking, "That doesn't change the fact that I don't like to sleep so much. I like to _do _stuff. Do you happen to need a deputy? I obviously can't do much, but I am willing to do _anything _that gets me out of this apartment."

Emma chuckled. "Oh, I most definitely need a deputy – or two, and you can have the job. You just need to rest for a little while. Dr. Whale would never clear you for deputy work. Hell, Graham, you can't even do paperwork. Your dominate hand is connected to your bad shoulder. So, rest and relax. I promise to visit you every single day."

Graham smiled, "Yeah, alright. Fine."

"Giving in so quickly, Mr. Humbert?" Emma asked, her eyebrow raised suspiciously.

"Would I ever win the argument?" When Emma merely shook her head, Graham chuckled. "So, I gave in. No use fighting the inevitable."

"Good point." Emma whispered. The real reason for her visit coming front and center.

Graham didn't miss the change in Emma's demeanor. His fingers ran through her hair before grazing her cheek. "Hey, what's on your mind?"

Emma sighed, "Graham, we can't keep you hidden forever. _She_ will eventually find out that you're alive and... I mean, will she try to finish the job?"

Graham sat up straighter, "You mean, kill me?" Emma nodded, as she turned weary eyes onto Graham. "I'm sure she will try something. Regina doesn't concede easy and she definitely doesn't admit defeat – ever."

"What are we going to do? Especially if she finds out what happened to Cora." Emma pointed out.

"Well, from what I gathered from my time as her – _pet_. She didn't get along with her mother. In fact, I think I remember hearing that she had ordered Cora to be killed. Obviously something went wrong with that, but I don't see that she'd get that angry about what we did if she had planned on killing her own mother?"

Emma shook her head. "How can someone be so – _heartless_."

Graham sighed, "You met her mother. I think you have the answer to that question."

"That doesn't change the fact that Regina is dangerous. She's already tried and practically succeeded in killing you once. Not to mention all the other horrible things that she has done. The fact that she nearly killed my son. We have to do something, Graham, before she makes a move. If we just take the chance that she won't do anything, she'll get us by surprise and she'll win."

Graham nodded, "I agree, but we have to be careful. She's very powerful, and we don't know what exactly you're capable of."

Emma raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Graham smiled, "You're the one that pulled Cora's heart from her chest. I don't know how, but you're magical, Emma. That could be good, but it could also be bad. We won't know for sure until we know what you're capable of doing."

Emma just stared at Graham, her mouth hanging open. "And how do we find that out?"

"Only three people would know, and one of them is dead. The other one you are trying to declare war on, so as far as I can tell, we only have one choice."

Emma's eyes narrowed, "Gold."

* * *

Snow stared at James, her hand clasped tightly around her coffee mug. The steam rising for her hot cocoa caused her eyes to water slightly. Her mouth bobbed open before closing for the fifth time since they had both sat down at the kitchen table.

"Snow, what's bothering you?" James asked, as he reached across the table and brushed his fingers across her knuckles.

Sighing softly, Snow's eyes wondered from James' intense stare, to her mug of cocoa. "I'm worried, James."

He nodded, "This is about Emma."

Her eyes flicked up to watch James' face. A mask of no emotion was put into place, as he clasped both of his hands together. "She hasn't been the same since she's returned."

James shook his head, but didn't speak. He wouldn't know if she had been the same, since he hadn't had the ability to be around Emma much before the curse broke. Though, James would never say the words out-loud, knowing that they would only stem to cause his wife pain, but it didn't mean that it hurt James any less. "That may be, Snow, but you have to think about what she's been through the past few weeks."

Snow nodded, and James knew that she understood what he was saying. Anyone would change under the amount of stress that Emma had to be under. It's not every day that you find out that your parents are essentially fairytale characters straight out of a book. Then to find yourself stuck in an unknown realm full of magic, and to see that your dead friend is actually still alive. James knew that all of the information piling up in Emma's mind was far more stress than she could probably take.

"I understand all of that, James, I do. I just – she won't talk about it. Nikolai won't answer any of my questions because he said that it's not his place, and I haven't been able to talk to Graham alone to get answers from him. None of this is healthy for her. Plus, at night I hear her whimpering."

James sighed, as his head hung. He hated himself for being such a heavy sleeper, because he should have known that his little girl was suffering from nightmares. "Have you tried to talk to her about it."

Snow nodded, "Yeah, she usually just changes the subject before fixing me with a look that says _please, just drop it_."

"Yeah, you're right. That's not healthy, but maybe she's talking it out with Nikolai and Graham. Maybe she doesn't think we'll understand any of it, or maybe she doesn't want to worry us."

Snow peered up at James, a defeated and exhausted look on her face. In that moment, James saw his wife age right before his eyes. Not only was it not healthy for Emma to keep everything bottled up, but it appeared to be unhealthy for his wife as well.

"It's having the opposite effect, James. I can barely sleep and eat. It's killing me to know that she doesn't think that we will understand what happened. We're from that realm, James. If anyone will understand, it'll be us."

James eyed Snow for a moment before speaking, "This is about Cora, isn't it?"

Snow stared, her mouth hanging open. The name hadn't been uttered in the apartment, not since Emma's first night home. The name always sent chills up and down Snow's spine. No matter how much Snow might dislike Regina for all the horrible things that she had done, Snow couldn't help but think that who Regina was, is completely Cora's fault.

"I don't know, James. Maybe. I mean, they mentioned her by name and talked about battling her, and yet they're alive. That can only mean one thing, right? If that's true, Regina will eventually find out and..." Snow couldn't finish her sentence. The thought of it alone made her stomach churn.

"If Regina finds out, she'll kill them all." James mumbled out the rest of Snow's sentence. His voice was monotonic, almost robotic.

"James, we can't let our baby girl die."

James shook his head stiffly, "I don't like that Regina has disappeared after she released the force field that they had placed over the portal. We need to find Regina, before Regina finds us."

Neither James or Snow noticed Henry's head peeking around the corner of the bathroom door. Tears in his eyes as he realized that his biological family and his adoptive mother would never get along. He would never be able to be in both of their lives, and it broke his heart to realize that he would have to choose.


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: **_I apologize for the long wait. I hit a bit of writer's block with the first part of this chapter. After I let it sit for a bit though, it just started to flow. Everything is setting up nicely for the climax of this story. Enjoy!

* * *

"Thanks for lunch." Nikolai smiled softly at Ruby as she walked toward the door.

She smiled back just as softly, before winking at him. "No problem. I couldn't very well let you starve, now could I?" She asked, with one eyebrow cocked. When Nikolai merely chuckled, Ruby waved, the smile still dancing across her lips, before she exited the apartment.

Once the door shut behind her, Nikolai let out a content sigh. He had never dreamed that he could be this happy, this content with his life. Before he found his brother and Emma, he had been resigned that he would spend the rest of his life alone. Now he had a family – an extended family, if Emma's parents were to be believed, and then there was Ruby. He felt drawn to her unlike any other person. Even more than he had been drawn to Graham, and that was his flesh and blood. There was just something about her that made his heart race uncomfortably. The way she would smile at him, like he was the only person in the room, or the way that her eyes would capture his for longer than necessary. Nikolai was almost certain that he was falling for her, but he couldn't be certain. Especially since he hadn't been in love before.

A moan escaped Nikolai's lips, as he stretched his arms out above his head. The muscles in his shoulders and back had been balled up tightly since they had portal jumped to Storybrooke. His sleep always interrupted by vivid, violent nightmares. Different every single time, but always with the same ending. Watching Emma and Graham die, before being killed himself.

Nikolai's thoughts were interrupted by two, nearly in sync, screams coming from Graham's bedroom. He didn't spare a second thought, before jogging quickly toward the closed bedroom door, and shoving it open. He didn't know who to help first. Graham was still, as a shrill scream curled its way from his throat, while Emma thrashed against the bed. Nikolai rushed toward Emma, if only to stop her from causing Graham more pain then he was already in.

"Hey. Emma. It's okay, you're safe. It's Nikolai. Come on, wake up." Nikolai cooed softly, his voice a hushed whisper.

The screaming from Graham's side of the bed stopped, as Nikolai cocked his head and watched Graham clutch at his arm, his eyes wide open.

"You okay?" Nikolai asked, concern lacing his brown eyes.

Graham nodded, as he eyed Emma wearily. "How about her?" He finally muttered.

Emma's body had stopped thrashing, the screaming had also ceased. In their wake was a shuttered Emma, her body shaking violent as tears lined her cheeks.

"Emma, come on. Wake up. You're safe. We're all safe." Nikolai pressed, as he shook her shoulder.

"Graham." Emma whimpered softly, before her eyes flashed open. Her blue eyes stared blankly back at Nikolai, almost as if she was looking straight through him.

After a moment, she blinked her eyes and focused on Nikolai's face. "Oh God." A blush crept onto her cheeks, as she sat up in Graham's bed. "I didn't mean to fall asleep."

Nikolai took a seat next to Emma's legs on the bed. "Have you been sleeping, Emma?" Nikolai asked, finally noticing the deep purple under her eyes.

"Not if I can help it..."

"How long has this been going on?" Graham interrupted her, his breathing was starting to level out.

Emma shrugged, before turning toward Graham. She gasped lightly at the sight of him clasping a tight hand on his injured shoulder. "Oh God. Did I do that?"

Graham looked away, not wanting her to feel any worse than she did already. "Yeah, I guess."

Nikolai cleared his throat. "So, you two are having nightmares too?"

Both of their heads whipped toward Nikolai, "You too?" Emma asked.

Nikolai nodded, "Since we got to Storybrooke. Let me guess, vivid and violent images from the Enchanted Forest?"

"Yeah." They both chimed in.

"Changes every night?" When they both nodded, Nikolai sighed. "Does anyone else find that weird? I mean, I would understand us having nightmares. We went through a trauma together, but why would it change so drastically every night? I mean, the first night it was Cora killing us all, and making me watch. Actually, every night it involves Cora killing us somehow..." Nikolai's sentence trailed off at the gaping stares he was getting from Graham and Emma. "What?"

"Nikolai, my first nightmare was Cora killing us at Lake Nostros – please tell me that yours was different."

Nikolai shook his head, "That is exactly what mine was about. It was the night I met Ruby. I told her all about."

The three of them gaped at each other, speechless.

* * *

Henry heard the hushed whispers of his grandparent move into their shared bedroom. At the moment, he would have given anything for their bedroom to have a door, but he knew that he would just have to make due with what he had. He snuck down the remaining stairs, careful to keep his footsteps light, before reaching the landing. Slowly and carefully, he pulled his backpack up and around his shoulders. He knew that if anyone had the ability to fix the rift between his biological family and his adoptive mother, it was him. He was the only thing that all of them had in common, and his well being meant more to them than anything else.

Tip-toeing quietly toward the kitchen, Henry peered back toward their bedroom, and smile triumphantly once he noted that their attention was on each other. Then he stared at the front door. That was going to be the tricky part. Getting out of the apartment without either of his grandparents hearing him. Edging himself toward the door, careful to not make any sound, Henry slowly slipped both of his shoes on.

"Please be quiet." Henry whispered, as he eyed the big, metal door. Gulping softly, Henry pulled on the door and squinted his eyes shut as he yanked it open. He smiled pleasantly at the very low, soft sound that the door let off. It wasn't the silent, stealthy exit he had been hoping for, but he hoped it was quiet enough for him to at least get a head-start. His grandparents were smart and so was his mother. Henry knew that it wouldn't take either of them long to figure out where he was headed. He just hoped that when he got there, Regina would be waiting.

* * *

Emma rushed down the stairs quickly, her feet slapping against the metal with a hard thump. Nikolai and Graham followed closely behind her. All of their eyes were still large as the facts started to settle in. It was weird enough that they were all having nightmares, but it was a given that they would all share the same fears. They had all both been through the same trauma. However, it was beyond their comprehension that they would be having the _same _nightmares.

As Emma's feet hit the landing of the second floor, she skidded to a stop and turned toward the hallway full of apartments. She hadn't wanted to share any of what had happened with her parents. She most definitely didn't want to see their worry-etched faces as she explained that she was having nightmares, and Emma most certainly dreaded what they would say or do when they found out that all three of them shared the exact same nightmares.

Emma had a theory, but there was no way it could rooted in truth. There was no way that she could know the truth, not yet. They had all been very careful to keep everything very hush-hush. It was need to know, and most of everything that had happened in the Enchanted Forest had been kept under wraps. The only person that knew most of what happened over there was Ruby, and Emma knew that her friend was trustworthy, no matter how much she might hate admitting it.

Without a second thought, like the fact that any of her family members might be sleeping, Emma threw the front door open. Her hands reached out to try to stop it from smacking against the wall a little to late. Emma grimaced, as her parents came rushing out of their bedroom.

"Sorry." Emma whispered, as her cheeks flushed red.

"That's alright, Emma." Snow answered, as she stared at the two people standing behind Emma. She couldn't deny the identical looks of confusion and fear etched on their faces. "What's wrong?"

Emma sighed, as she stepped in further to allow Nikolai and Graham to step inside the apartment and shut the door. "You guys might want to sit down. This is going to take awhile."

* * *

Ruby stared out the diner window, her nose wrinkling when she saw Henry run past the diner. She dropped the dish towel she had been clutching. Somewhere deep inside her mind she could hear her grandmother yelling at her, however she couldn't help but to tune her out. Her mind elsewhere, Ruby took a few quick steps forward and found herself outside. She could still see Henry's small head bobbing up and down and he continued jogging forward. It didn't take her long to figure out where he was headed.

Without so much as a second thought, Ruby took off after him. She didn't want him to know that she was following him though. Not when she needed to figure out his motives to go see _her_. Ruby kept her footsteps light, her boots barely hitting the cement. She knew that it was her other side taking over. The fight or flight instinct was kicking in slowly, as her wolf side grew more agitated with where she was headed. Still she fought it off, as she kept her distance from the young boy.

He took the correct turns until the white mansion came into view. Ruby felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Everything inside of her was screaming to run in the opposite direction, and while she had a rather large distaste for _the Queen_, she had never felt quite so – disturbed – being so close to the other woman. Something was wrong. She could feel it in the air. Something was off, but she couldn't put her finger on what that might be. She made a move to pick up her pace to stop Henry from doing something dangerous, but she was too late. He had already rang the doorbell, and the light in the foyer turned on. Instead, Ruby merely flattened herself out of view and watched the door open. The sight of Regina caused her hands to shake, but then again that was an unusual reaction to the dreadful woman. Something wasn't right, but she couldn't stop what was happening. Not when Regina put her arm around Henry's shoulders and led him into the mansion. She had to go get Emma and her family. She had to tell them what was going on. Something was terribly wrong, and she had this horrible feeling that Henry is in grave danger.


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: **_So, it's all about to hit the fan. Hopefully I haven't given too much away. The next chapter is not to be missed.

* * *

Emma folded her hands over her lap, and breathed deeply. She hadn't even gotten to the worst part of the story, and she was already starting to chicken out. Though to be fair, her parents weren't exactly experts at hiding their shock or fear as well as them might hope that they are.

"Oh Graham and Nikolai, I am so sorry." Snow muttered softly, as she patted Graham's knee, before sending Nikolai an apologetic look.

"Thanks." Graham answered softly, his eyes downcast.

"So – what happened next?" James pushed forward.

Emma looked up at her parents, and studied them for a moment. It was the first time since she found out that they really were her parents, that she had the time to take a good hard look at them. She bit her lip to keep herself from chuckling out as she realized that Mary Margaret's joke from what seemed like another life, was dead on. Emma did have her mother's chin. Upon further inspection though, Emma noted that most of her physical attributes linked her to her father. Her blonde hair, her blue eyes, and her strong build. It was all passed down to her from James. Which made her think, if she looked more like her father, did that mean that she had more of her mother's personality?

Snow cleared her throat softly, causing Emma to return to the present. Nodding softly, Emma opened her mouth to continue when the front door burst open.

"Goodness!" Snow shouted, as her hand covered her heart.

Both Emma and James stood up defensively, while Nikolai crouched in front of Graham. It took a moment for everyone to realize who was at the door, and another moment for them to recoil from their defensive positions.

"Ruby!" Nikolai whispered, as he stalked forward. He didn't look the fearful look in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Emma!" Ruby called out, passing Nikolai an almost apologetic look before moving passed him and toward her friend – her goddaughter.

"What's wrong? Is it Regina?" Emma nearly snarled the name out.

"Kind of. Let me ask you a question, where is Henry?"

Emma swallowed thickly, before turning toward her parents. Before she had dove into her recanting of what happened in the Enchanted Forest, she had asked her parents that same question. Their answer had appeased her, by simply explaining that he was napping. However, looking at the fear in Ruby's eyes, she knew that her friend knew more about where Henry was then Emma did.

"He's in bed, asleep – right?" She paused, as she stared at her parents.

"We watched him go upstairs. James, didn't you check on him?"

James nodded his head softly, "Yeah, right before we started talking in our room. He was sound asleep."

Emma stared between her parents and her friend, "Why, Ruby?"

"Because he just went to Regina's. He's with her now."

Emma's hands balled into fists. She didn't spare her parents a passing glance as she stormed up the stairs, and threw the loft room's door open. An angry scream penetrated the air, before Emma came stomping back down the stairs.

"One thing. I asked you to do one thing, and you couldn't even do that right!" Emma screamed at her parents, before locking eyes with the other three people in the room. "Take me to my son."

"Emma." Graham called out.

"Nope." Emma said dismissively. "You're staying here. Watch them." She spoke harshly, before placing a kiss on his cheek. "I have to go get my son back from the evil bitch."

* * *

Emma stomped down the street, her legs moving as fast as they could. Ruby and Nikolai were jogging in an attempt to keep up.

"Tell me again, why couldn't we take your car?" Ruby yelled from behind her.

"Because the bitch'll see us coming. A sneak attack is the way to go. Mainly because she has that witchy ju-ju shit going on, and I don't."

Ruby sighed softly, as Nikolai grabbed her hand. "She's just worried." He smiled softly.

Ruby looked down at their joined hands, before looking back up at Nikolai. She smiled back before speaking. "Yeah, I know. I've known Emma for a little while. She doesn't give up easily."

Nikolai laughed lightly, "No, she doesn't. Not when her family is involved."

"Could you two stop talking and keep up the pace. It's called a sneak attack, not a chatty attack."

Ruby rolled her eyes, before gripping Nikolai's hand tighter and pulling him forward. They started to jog a little faster to keep up with Emma.

"We're close," Emma spoke softly after a little while of waking in silence. "Nikolai and Ruby, I want you guys to sneak around to the back. I'll go through the front. We'll meet in the foyer."

Both Nikolai and Ruby nodded, but neither of them liked Emma going off on her own. Instead they just waited for her to signal for them to make their move. Emma crouched down and moved slowly up the front yard and toward the door. She placed her ear against the door and listened carefully, hoping that she would hear Henry's voice so that she would know that he was in there. When she didn't hear anything, she reached up and felt the knob. Twisting it slowly, she smiled when it easily gave way as the door swung open. Pulling herself out of the crouch, Emma walked into the white mansion and looked around. There was no sign of any living person. There was no mess, nothing. Emma felt like something was off. Her nose wrinkled slightly as she walked further into the house. She could hear Ruby and Nikolai make their way through the kitchen and toward the foyer. As she made a step for the dining room, she heard feet hitting the hardwood floor upstairs. She signaled toward the stairs with her head, and started up them.

Taking the stairs two at a time, Emma quickly rounded into the hallway upstairs. As she was about to pass the first door on her right, she saw a door a few feet down the hallway swing open. Emma reached for the side of her jeans and cursed under her breath when she realized she didn't have her gun. She moved slowly down the hallway. She could feel Nikolai and Ruby behind her, the latter of the two was practically shaking. Just as Emma made it passed the first door and toward the second door, a silhouette stepped out from the room and looked directly at the three of them.

"What in the hell do you think your doing?" Regina yelled at them.

"I came to get back my son. Now, where is he?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't seen Henry since you came back through the portal. Now kindly, get the hell out of my house." Regina smirked condescending at them.

Ruby stepped forward. Her body shaking, as she attempted to keep herself under control. "That isn't true! I followed Henry here earlier. I watched him knock on the front door. It opened, you stepped out and let him in!"

The scowl on Regina's face faltered as she took in the information. "That's impossible. I've been asleep all day with a splitting headache. I didn't even feel like I could get out of bed. I haven't seen Henry. I don't have him."

The anger on Emma's face dropped. Her hatred for the woman in front of her forgotten for the moment. "If you don't have Henry and he isn't here – then who has him and where is he?"

* * *

Snow stared off into space, she didn't even realize that both, James and Graham, where staring at her. James reached forward and grabbed a firm hold of her hand, trying to gain her attention.

"Snow. What's wrong?" He knew it was a dumb question. Emma was angry with them, and they had lost Henry. There were plenty of things wrong, none of which he knew how to fix. However, he knew that it would help him console her if he knew which one of the problems that they were facing, was bothering her the worst.

"I don't get it. I thought we did a good job taking care of Henry. I thought he loved us. Why would he runaway?" Snow asked, as her eyes moved to find her husbands.

James' lower lip puckered out slightly at the sight of tears in Snow's eyes. He didn't realize that she was taking Henry's Houdini act so badly. She had been so strong when Emma had been there, yelling, raving, and planning. She had even helped the trio that had left on the rescue mission come up with their plan. Even though Emma was angry with them, he had seen the shock and almost pride on her face when Snow gave them a near perfect tactical plan. James made a note to himself to tell Emma about some of the missions that Snow had perfectly planned.

"We did, Snow. We did everything that we could for him. Emma will realize that, she just has a lot on her plate right now, but she'll come around."

Snow gazed at James for a moment, before shaking her head. "It's not just about Emma, James. It's Henry. If we took such good care of him, why did he feel the need to just take off?"

James' mouth bobbed open and close a couple of times, before Graham sat forward. He cradled his injured arm in his lap, as he thought about his words carefully. "Snow. You remember what Henry was like before Emma broke the curse, right?"

Snow offered Graham a small smile, "Yes."

"Is there any chance that he heard anything that would make him take off? Perhaps a fight, maybe between you and Regina?"

Snow tapped her chin thoughtfully, as she let her mind drift back. She thought about any of the fights that they had with Regina while Emma was gone. All the times that she and James mentioned Regina in a bad or hurtful way. None of those times did she visually remember Henry being there, but if there was something she had learned from her grandson, it was that he was very sneaky. "It's possible. Henry is quite a stealthy child."

Graham nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe none of this is as bad as we think? Maybe, Henry took off to try to fix things between his two families."

James sighed, remembering the conversation he had with Henry in his truck before they convinced Regina to open the portal back up. That even though he wanted to hate her – even though he knew that he had every reason to hate Regina, that he still loved her. Suddenly, Graham's idea made perfect sense.

"I think you might be onto something, Huntsman." Graham smiled weakly at James, whose cheeks turned a bright read. "I am sorry, that was quite callous of me. You've saved my entire family. You brought my daughter back to us. I do apologize."

Graham waved him off with his good arm. "It's quite alright..." Graham trailed off.

"Graham, what is it?" Snow asked, her own problems forgotten for the moment, at the troubled look on Graham's face.

Sighing heavily, Emma was going to kill him, that much he knew. "Emma didn't get a chance to finish what she was saying earlier. It's something that is really bothering me."

Snow and James' eyebrows wrinkled slightly, "You can tell us about it – if you want to." Snow pressed.

Graham nodded, "After my father died," Graham paused, sniffling slightly. He had yet to fully grieve the death of both of his parents. "We were able to quickly locate Lake Nostros. We had the wardrobe ashes and the compass. Everything that we needed to return. I guess deep down I knew that it was a little easy, but I just wanted to get Emma home. She might not have said anything, but I could see it in her eyes. She missed Storybrooke – Henry – you guys – just everyone. I rushed through the bushes, and the next thing I know, I'm flying through the air and everything just went black. What happened after that, I'm not entirely sure, until I woke up. Emma was standing over Cora, a look of horror on her face..."

Snow and James leaned forward slightly, waiting for Graham to continue. Sweat started to form on his forehead. He swiped his arm against his eyebrows to clear away the excess moisture.

"She took Cora's heart. Just ripped it right from her chest. She was so scared by what she had done, she froze. I knew that she couldn't do it, Emma's heart is far too good to take a life. So I stepped forward and grabbed Cora's heart from her hand. I squeezed it with everything inside of me. Every single angry feeling I felt, drifted away as the heart in my hand turned to dust. That woman ultimately took everything from me. My parents, twice, my brother – my life. She might not have been the one to have squeezed my heart, but she is a big part of the reason why Regina is the way she is. Her body just seized up, and she turned to dust and drifted off. We jumped into the portal together – What happened after that, you already know. What you might not know, is that all three of us have been suffering nightmares."

Snow stared at Graham, still trying to process the fact that Emma had taken Cora's heart. It just seemed too easy. "Well, I think that is normal given the circumstances."

Graham chuckled, "Yeah, except that we're having the exact same nightmares. Down to the last detail."

Snow's mouth bobbed open, as a thought entered her mind. "Are you absolutely sure that Cora's dead?"


End file.
